Kayla woke at midday and got to work straight away laying out her kit. They had plate carriers, chest rigs, and holsters for sidearms, but that was the totality of their tactical equipment. Below that, they could only wear whatever civilian clothes would best help them blend into a crowd in case they had to make a run for it. Fortunately, Kayla was able to load the usual complement of grenades and ammo, and she felt suitably well-armed for any situation.

She left the gear neatly arranged on her sleeping bag and went to check on the vehicles, making sure her driver side weapon stowage opened easily. A few practice attempts assured her she could pull her carbine out and aim it quickly out the window. Then she began loading the assortment of med-kits, extra grenades, and other accessories into the car’s hidden compartments. Finally, a mag went into her rifle, though she kept the chamber empty for now. She was soon joined by Thandi and Kes, making the same preparations, as the rest of the squad began to crawl out of their sacks.

“Let’s get some sunlight,” Thandi suggested, when she too had finished.

Kayla cheerfully agreed, and they went to stand out in the warehouse’s short driveway. They wouldn’t step into view of the outside world for the rest of the day, which would be spent sitting by the squad’s radio, listening for news. With tension running high, there was no chance of finding distraction through any form of entertainment.

“What do you think Christie’s doing right now?” Thandi asked.

Kayla snorted. “She’s got some high-rise office suite with big windows so she can watch the show with a cup of tea in hand.” Her voice changed to a mock English accent. “Dance my puppets.”

“Honestly I just hope she ditched everything and went to find a safe house.”

“Yeah. But you know she didn’t.”

“I pray for her, and the rest of her team.”

“Lord,” Kayla said out loud. “We beseech your blessing in today’s undertaking, and would greatly appreciate your assistance in sending that witch Rayker straight to hell. And any other son of a bitch who gets in our way.”

Thandi nodded approvingly. “That hits the spot, sure enough. But please don’t curse when you address the Almighty.”

“Um… hey,” said a voice, and they turned to see Jess standing shyly in the warehouse doorway.

“How’s it going, girl-boss?” Kayla said.

The nickname seemed to annoy the young private and so, in accordance with Ranger tradition, it had been used more and more frequently. Debate raged as to whether it should become official. Kayla thought it was perfect, while Ray claimed it was way too cool for a rookie.

“Step out and get some sunlight with us,” Thandi said warmly.

Jess nodded gratefully, and moved into the vitalizing rays. They allowed a moment of silence to pass. It might, after all, be the last time they ever experienced such simple happiness.

“I’m a little nervous,” Jess said, eventually.

Thandi laughed. “Really? Because I’m as scared as a kitten.”

“You don’t show it at all.”

“Comes with practice,” Thandi said.

“There’s no mental technique or…?” Jess’s voice trailed off.

“Exposure’s the only way to deal with it,” Kayla said. “Manage your breathing, keep your mind busy; do the best you can. I like that you’re scared—it will make you pay attention. Worse thing for you right now would be overconfidence.”

“Yay for me,” Jess said glumly.

Kayla turned and looked her in the eye. “Bravery is always an uphill struggle. The rent is due everyday—you just have to make sure it gets paid.”

“Amen,” said Thandi. “And beyond that, don’t try to be a hero, because death would be a bad look for you.”

Gaz grabbed his snacks and juice bottles off the service shop counter and walked back out to the surveillance van. He and Sal were killing time in town before heading back to replace team three, outside VennZech headquarters. Nobody had heard from their new friends, and Gaz was tempted to conclude they never would again. The investigators had obviously been a source of information for the women, and not useful for much else.

It was true that Kayla had seemed concerned about Milani, but nobody in the galaxy was free to go where their hearts took them. They all worked for an employer who had their own agenda, and that was all there was to it. Gaz was only happy to learn a little bit more about what VennZech was up to in Rackeye, and that Allana Rayker was in town.

On second thought, he wasn’t happy to learn that at all; just better off than being ignorant of the fact.

Sal, standing next to the driver side door, gratefully took possession of one of Gaz’s bags, which he dumped into the seat.

“Can’t live without my Poppin’ Rocks,” he exclaimed cheerfully.

“Sugar junkie,” Gaz chided.

“Still no word from that Earther girl?”

“Nope,” Gaz said levelly.

Sal grinned. “Okay—you’ve gotten all cynical. But I saw the way that other girl, Kayla, looked at you. You haven’t heard the last from her, guaranteed.”

“Whatever man. I’m just trying to focus on the problems in front of us,” Gaz said as he held back a smile.

“Yeah,” Sal said thoughtfully. “Those two were something else though. Crazy fast, and carrying two teenagers? Makes you think. And all their friends are women? What did we get ourselves into?”

“The galaxy is a weird and wonderful place, mon ami. But we need to come up with a plan that doesn’t rely on people we can’t count on.”

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

“Oh sure,” Sal said. “I had a thought about that actually.”

“Send it.”

“Meteor strike, plus follow up assault. What do you think?”

Gaz rolled his eyes. “Come on man, how are we going to get a decent sized mass into a collision trajectory without anyone figuring it out?”

“They did it on the Xin Liu Job. The Fenway cartel… you remember?”

“I remember that the League wiped them off the map afterwards, and I remember that every movie since then used an orbital strike as an action centerpiece. Literally everyone knows how that works now.”

Sal shook his head. “Damn. Okay, I’ll go back to the drawing board. But my stroke of genius is coming, I can feel it.”

Gaz chuckled. Their conversations often went the same way, and their harebrained schemes usually revolved around some spectacular movie moment. It was more a way to kill time than anything.

“Man,” Gaz said as he took one last moment to enjoy the sensation of being stood upright outside a vehicle. “Do you ever wonder—”

Sal’s head shot round, his eyes wide. “What the hell was that?”

“Huh?” Gaz said, and waited in silence. Then he heard the sound, locked eyes with his partner, and darted for the passenger side of the van.

“Hey, Kayla?” Ray said as she stopped at the door to the warehouse. “Did you check your radio this morning?”

“I ran the diagnostic an hour ago,” Kayla said. “It was fine. What’s up?”

Ray shook her head. “I’m not getting any signal. Neither is Kes.”

“Well, what did the diagnostic say?”

“It was fine too.”

“Oh, come on…” Kayla sighed in frustration. There was always something to go wrong.

“Can you try and contact Platoon headquarters?” Ray demanded impatiently. “Otherwise, we have no comms.”

“Yeah, I’m coming,” Kayla said, and turned to head inside.

Thandi’s hand grabbed her shoulder. “Did you hear that?” she asked.

Kayla looked around in confusion. “Um…”

Over the background hum of the city, there was a distinct ‘wump’.

“And again—that was an explosion,” Thandi hissed.

They remained still, Jess staring at them with wide eyes. Then there was another distant, but unmistakable boom.

Kayla felt her insides turn to ice. Explosions and dead radios. Nothing that followed would be good. She shot past the alert-looking Ray and found Kes, cursing as she fiddled with the squad radio. Kayla lunged for her own set, and her sensation of dread deepened as she realized that she too could get nothing but static.

“Mine’s dead too,” she said to Kes, “and we’re hearing explosions in the city.”

Kes stared at her for a moment. “Everyone gear up,” she called.

The Rangers standing around the warehouse sprang into action. They threw on plate carriers and chest rigs, fixed their earpieces, for what good it would do them, and racked bolts on their weapons.

“Post security to watch the streets,” Kes ordered.

Kayla grabbed Tian and Ray and sent them up on the roof, then she told Thandi and Lyna to watch the back way. She chased Bibi, who was already running to the main gate, followed closely by Jess .

“Nothing moving,” they called back after a few tense minutes.

“Kayla, can you even call me from your set?” Kes demanded.

Kayla tried, but Kes shook her head and threw the earpiece down in frustration.

“This has to be jamming,” she said. “No other way to block our comms like this.”

“How is that possible?” Kayla asked, and saw nothing but confusion in the corporal’s eyes.

“Hey,” Ray called back, “I can hear gunfire. Rapid bursts. Sounds like it’s out towards the starport.”

Kes swore. “We’re dead and blind and on our own.”

“There’s a construction site three blocks away,” Kayla suggested. “Let me get up on one of the cranes and I’ll be able to see what’s happening.”

Kes was about to agree, when Jess entered the room holding a tablet. “I still have access to the planetary net. It’s all over the news.”

She turned up the volume and they watched, appalled, as an airborne camera stared down at the starport terminals. Pillars of smoke rose in the air, accompanied by the occasional flashes of explosions. A missile sailed across the tarmac and struck a parked shuttle, which evaporated in an immense fireball.

“Our mechs are supposed to have missile launchers,” Kes observed coldly.

The commentary from the news feed continued in the background. “…reports coming in of explosions across the entire city. No word on who is responsible yet, but at least four districts are under heavy attack…”

“Ray—Steel mill?” Kes called.

“No smoke, no gunfire,” came the reply.

“Lyna, get in here, see if you can fly your drone. Hernandez, get back there and replace her.”

“That would be a small mercy,” Kayla observed as she grabbed Jess’s tablet, and fought to keep from freaking out. “Is this Rayker’s plan? Take over Rackeye today with her mechs?”

Kes shook her head. “This doesn’t make sense. Intel didn’t support her having enough security forces on the ground, and these mechs aren’t positioned to attack the police or the city hall. All they can do is cripple some infrastructure.” She inhaled deeply. “I really need some insight here, Barnes. This is your city.”

Kayla tried desperately to make sense of what was happening. “I think… I think she just wants to kill people so she can draw us out. She wants us fighting in the streets so she can scare the League into taking over the planet. But what does that get her? We’re missing something important.”

Kes nodded. “Well, she’s going to get her wish. Our mission just changed. We have to destroy these things and save as many civilians as we can. That’s our mandate, and I guarantee you that every other team out there is coming to the same conclusion. Ray, tell me the streets are still clear,” she called.

“Looks that way,” Ray yelled back.

“Lyna?”

There was a curse. “No-go on the drone. Signal is jammed too.”

“Ditch it,” Kes ordered. “Everyone load into the vehicles. We’re going to the starport to try and stop that attack, and hopefully link up with some of the other squads.”

“And the steel mill?” Kayla asked as they moved into the warehouse.

Kes shook her head. “I don’t care about it. Any civilians working there have plenty of cover and escape routes; all that mech can do is destroy buildings. We need to make contact with our own and focus on the greatest danger.”

Kayla threw open her driver side door and stowed her weapon by her seat, ignoring the hidden compartment.

Kes grabbed her arm. “Stick on my tail, but if we get separated, go find trouble and try to find Rangers.”

Kayla nodded. Though the day probably wasn’t going to go the way any of them hoped. She jumped behind the wheel, then stopped to check that the others had clambered in. Kes opened the gate, then jumped back into the first vehicle as Bibi nosed out into the street. Kayla followed close behind them.

“Girls,” Ray announced next to her, as she racked the bolt in her carbine, “prepare for another fun day.”

They raced north, dodging through traffic until they came to the main road running around the industrial zone. City police had set up a hasty checkpoint to block the route.

“VennZech security—let us through,” Kes yelled, as she held up a forged badge.

The police, scared, confused, and overwhelmed, didn’t even stop to check them, and they were hastily waved through onto an empty road. The smoke columns from the starport came into view, and the clatter of machine gun fire became audible over the noise of the engines.

Ray cocked her head. “It’s still only a single weapon. And it’s gotta be running low on ammunition by now.”

Then, the clear sound of rifles firing single shots rang out, accompanied by small bangs.

“Valkyrie weapons,” Ray noted. “That’s got to be third squad,”

Kes must have reached the same conclusion, because her vehicle suddenly accelerated down the long straight, that was taking them past the starport’s train station.

Then Kayla saw something that made her blood run cold. Vehicles—black SUVs—tucked behind a building. As she passed, they pulled out behind her and began to follow. She thumped her horn to alert Kes.

From behind the next building, a mech stepped out into the road. It levelled a shoulder mounted missile launcher at the lead vehicle, and fired. Time slowed down as Kes’ truck was hit below the front wheel and flipped high into the air, before crashing back down into a high-speed roll.

Kayla felt the urge to brake, to place her own truck protectively between the wreckage and the enemy, but a flash of rage-fueled insight took control.

The mech had two legs, and it was turned at an angle to the road, presumably to steady itself for the missile shot. With nothing in her mind but destruction, Kayla veered into the opposite lane, slammed her foot on the accelerator, and aimed straight for it.

“Oh shit,” Ray yelled. “Everyone, brace for impact.”

The mech turned its torso to level a machine gun, but too slowly. As the SUV barreled towards its leg at more than a hundred miles per hour, Kayla let go of the wheel, and pulled her arms up to her face. The world went black.